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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s basketball team cut a 24-point deficit down to five, but Western Kentucky hit its free throws down the stretch and survived 84-75 Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

WKU snaps a six-game losing streak, its longest in 13 years, and improves to 6-11 overall and 1-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. USA drops its fourth straight to fall to 7-10, 1-5.

Western Kentucky shot 64.3 percent from the floor in building a 19-point halftime lead and hit 56.6 percent for the game. Four of WKU’s five starters reached double-figure scoring, including Sergio Kerusch, who had a game-high 20 points.

“The first stat that I look at is 56 percent,” Jaguar head coach Ronnie Arrow said of WKU’s field goal percentage. “We’re not stopping people. You’re not going to win many games with 56 percent. I thought we did a great job of coming back, but we dug ourselves in a hole.”

Down 19 points with less than 10 minutes left in the contest, South Alabama reeled off eight points thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) to cut the margin down to 11. Another triple from Brock and a second-chance lay-up from redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) got the lead down to eight with 5:32 left in the game.

After two Caden Dickerson free throws, Brock and Rubit combined for three points from the foul line and a jumper from senior Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) brought USA to within five at the 3:44 mark, the closest the Jaguars had been since 6:22 of the first half.

Redus had 13 of his 15 points after halftime, including seven in a three-minute span early in the second period.

“Tonight ‘G’ had the hot hand and we did a good job of getting him the ball,” said Arrow.

But WKU’s Jamal Crook went 2-for-2 at the free throw line and the Hilltoppers converted a turnover into two more points to stretch its lead back up to nine. Western Kentucky finished the game 8 of 10 at the line and allowed South Alabama to only get as close as six in the final minute.

The Hilltoppers dominated inside in the first half, outscoring the Jags 26-6 in the paint. Steffphon Pettigrew went 6-for-6 from the floor, part of the team’s 64.3 percent effort.

The first-half dominance extended into the rebounding battle as well. Western Kentucky had 22 boards to South Alabama’s nine.

WKU finished the half on a 16-2 run, scoring the game’s final 10 points before the break. The last USA field goal came at the 4:19 mark.

“They went right at some of our inside guys and we just got out of the way,” commented Arrow. “We were doing the matador defense, just twisting and they go right by us. They went right at some of our post men. The second half we did a better job, but the first half was just ridiculous. They probably got seven to 10 points from catching the ball at the free throw line and just driving uncontested. We had guys right there between them and the goal and we didn’t stop them.”

USA had its opportunities early on, using turnovers to build a 9-3 advantage. WKU committed miscues on six of its first eight possessions, including four in a row. But the Jags returned the favor, missing their next six shots in just under four minutes, and the ‘Toppers scored 13 of the game’s next 16 points to go up 16-11.

“They turned the ball over like three or four times in a row and we didn’t come down and execute and make them pay for it,” said Arrow. “We take different times in the game to dig ourselves into a hole and then we go to work.”

All five South Alabama starters reached double-digit scoring. Brock paced the team with 17 and Redus added 15. Junior Allyn Cooks (Bryan, Texas) tied his season best with 14 and senior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) totaled 13.

Rubit recorded his eighth double-double of the year, tying him for the conference lead, with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

In addition to Kerusch’s 20 points, Pettigrew finished with 19 and eight rebounds, and Juan Pattillo notched his eighth double-double, keeping pace with Rubit, with 12 points and 10 boards. Kahlil McDonald scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half.

South Alabama wraps up its homestand Saturday against Florida International at 7:05 p.m.

NOTES: Western Kentucky has won six straight in the series, dating back to the 2008-09 season… Eight of the last nine meetings have been decided by single digits… South Alabama is 0-4 since winning the 699th game in its history… USA is 1-5 in the Sun Belt for the first time since the 1981-82 campaign… The Jags’ 52 points in the second half are a season high… WKU committed 21 turnovers for the game… Redus tied his season best of five assists… The Jaguars started 3-for-15 from the floor and converted only 25.9 percent in the first half… South Alabama shot a season-high 26 3-pointers (made eight)… Eight of Rubit’s 12 boards came on the offensive glass—all in the second half— and no other USA player had more than four rebounds total… After being outrebounded 22-9 in the first half, the Jags won the battle 22-16 in the second, including 15 offensive boards... WKU’s field goal percentage of 56.6 and free throw percentage of 86.4 are the highest by a USA opponent this season.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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